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There are two distinct paths to proper weight management. One is to be a ?plower? who mows down large quantities of nutritious unprocessed food, never skipping meals or watching portion size. The other way is through force ? exercising extremely hard and eating so little that the body cannot slow down its metabolism enough to keep body weight from dropping. One of these routes is fully sustainable and keeps the physical/mental/emotional body balanced, strong, resistant to both chronic and infectious disease, etc. The other route is a one-way ticket to bone and hair loss, physical injury, a compromised immune system and the fun that comes along with it, erratic moods, and a damaged metabolism resulting in the eventual inability to eat normal amounts of food without blowing up like a balloon.

And before we go any further, let me mention that the title of this edition is a takeoff of the book entitled Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins. It’s a book, not about nutrition or anything, but about how you can push on someone’s outstretched arm to solve all the mysteries of the universe. You can rate anything on a scale of 1-1000! His book rates out at an 880, putting it ahead of most of the spiritual texts ever written. He also mentions that Wal-Mart’s success is due to the fact that it is more morally aligned with God. Hawkins, a morally elite ninja himself, claims to have come around a corner one time, and upon seeing a gang fight his radiant God-like presence caused those mf?n gangstaz to break out in laughter. Oh snap! Hawkins don’t play dat! It is irrefutably the worst book ever printed in the English language. For more plausible theories on the mysteries of the universe, I highly recommend The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Okay, where were we (author pauses, wipes tears of laughter out of eyes)? Oh yeah, plower vs. force.

If you are genuinely interested, not in looking hot by next Tuesday and screw the rest, but in finding a way to properly nourish yourself in a way that’s sustainable, effortless in the sense that you will no longer be at war with your body, and provides you with overall vitality and a healthy bodyweight, then consider doing these things:

? Eat a ginormous (that’s gigantic and enormous combined) breakfast. One of the best ways to gain weight eating normal amounts of food or not be able to lose an ounce eating nothing is to skip breakfast.

? Eat three meals per day, whether you are hungry at meal time or not. A bagel or Caesar salad is not a meal.Think of what grandma would have served: a starch, a vegetable cooked with a hunk of fat, meat, soup, bread and butter, and a huge glass of milk. And she would force every bite down your throat.

It amazes me how ingrained it is in people’s minds that eating less is the way to health and weight loss. I can understand why this is so, but it is so annoying to see people feel the effects of eating real food and then turn around and use that inappropriately. Typical example?

Sum Yung?Gal: I’m hardly eating anything, but I still am gaining weight. I’m hungry all the time and I just can’t find the energy to exercise.

Me: Try eating until you are full three times per day without restricting anything.

Sum Yung Gal: Wow, it’s only been a week and I can really feel the difference! And I’m never hungry. My appetite is seriously gone. I feel like I can go all day without food.

It’s true, eating’satisfying food, will keep you stable for hours, energize you, and take away that gnawing appetite that plagues the undernourished (as well as help overcome addictions, stabilize emotions, and overcome chronic illnesses). So yes, you can practically go all day without food when you’ve been feeding yourself well. You can also stick your finger in your butt, but neither will get you closer to good health or effortless weight management.

When you put your hand in boiling water, you feel that it is hot and know that it’s not good for your hand. Reducing calories or exercising fanatically; however, is different. When you suddenly exercise more and eat less, you lose weight. It seems simple. I just have to eat less and exercise more! The reason this happens is because your intake and exertion are not aligned with your metabolism. But the body works as hard as it can to align the metabolism with your intake and exertion, meanwhile decreasing energy levels and increasing appetite. It’s the body’s way of saying, ?Hey stupid, what are you doing? You are f?n killing me! Because this is how metabolism works, some people eat like horses and can’t gain weight and others eat very little and can’t lose weight. In almost all cases, it is a?metabolic phemonenon. And metabolism, when it comes to weight management, is a very important factor.

This is why what I recommend for weight management (eat more, don’t exercise to exhaustion) is so counterintuitive for so many people, because they’ve experienced gaining weight when eating a lot and not exercising, and losing weight when exercising and eating very little. This feedback is just plain misunderstood, and many people, even though they may maintain a healthy bodyweight for most of their lives, go to war with their bodies every day to achieve that. That is ?force,? and it is harmful and totally unnecessary. Plus, it’s a just plain sucky way to live your life, and you miss out completely on the beauty of communion with food.